Snow Way
by winterwanderland
Summary: Just as she was about to leave for vacation, Casey gets sucked into a problem caused by Derek. She finds herself stranded in a car with him and the hotel up a head is over a mile away. She wants nothing to do with what Derek dragged her into either. Little did she know, that what the hotel would drag her into would be much, much worse.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue:

Casey's POV:

_I thought it was going to be a typical car ride with Derek. Well—as typical as it could be with him anyway. I should've known better though. It was pretty cold when we left home, don't get me wrong, but I didn't think the car would break down. Of course, Derek had assured Mom and George that we would be fine. He told them we'd check in with them when we got to the Coco La Playa Resort just about four hours from home. And again, of course we ended up in an area with no service to call for help. It's always me, what did I expect? Well—certainly not what was in front of me a few paces ahead. It was a hotel, and with barely one hundred dollars to spend I watched as Derek walked up to the entrance. I really hope he they have a phone that Derek won't break… or something that I can smack him upside the head with. Guess I'll find out…_

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><p>A few hours earlier…<p>

**Casey's POV:**

"Derr-ek!" I shouted from downstairs as I checked my watch. The time faded and flickered, the battery needed to be replaced. I tapped on the watch. The time read 11:57. Derek always had to be the diva of the day. I crossed my arms, rolled my eyes and scoffed.

"Of course, no answer! He is not even _close_ to being courteous of others and their _time constraints_!" I move a piece of hair out of my eyes as Mom gave me a look that said "quit being so dramatic." I made a face at her as she turned the other way. My eyes made their way to George who ran a hand through his greased golden hair. He cleared his throat and prepared to yell. Lizzie and Edwin appeared from the kitchen and covered their ears to brace for the impact. As if someone lit the wick on a rocket to launch, George howled.

"Derrre—" Before George could finish yelling, Derek emerged from his cave in his pajamas, robe and all. My mouth dropped to the floor. We were supposed to leave in 3 minutes to get to the show we planned to go to on time.

"You have _**got **_to be kidding me!" I threw my arms in the air. He stretched briefly before leaning over the railing of the stairs.

Leaning on his hand he put to his face, he began to speak.

"No need to yell Dad, you all go on without me, I'll make it down to Loco la…" He thought of a minute, "Loca la Papaya or whatever later." He waited for George's reaction. George didn't look impressed, and Derek must have noticed. "Oh, didn't Casey tell you?" He acted shocked. "She's coming with me! We're leaving at uh…one! We had some university work we wanted to discuss." He put a hand to his heart, "I'm shocked you forgot—"He pondered for a moment, "then again, not really. You are Spacey Casey after all!"

Mom turned to me and gave me a confused look; another was followed by George, who seemed more suspicious. I was about to retort out of annoyance when I glanced at Derek. He shook his head and pressed a finger to his lips. For some reason, I felt like playing along. I crossed my arms again and put on my bubble gum-sugar-coated voice.

"Oh, right. I'm so sorry! I did forget. You all can go ahead without us. We'll meet you there." I said this with eyes all on me. Derek looked stunned that I agreed with him, yet he didn't argue.

"Uh—yeah, what… what she said." Derek pointed at me, waving his finger. I gave him a weird look as I watched George scratch his head.

"Well, its twelve now, so if we leave right away, we should make it to the show in time…" George spoke quickly as Mom chimed in,

"Casey, are you sure? You really seemed like you wanted to see this show! It has all of the cute little characters you liked when you were little and—"

"Mom—it's fine!" I said loudly as I watched her jump at my tone. I put on an apologetic face, she nodded to me. Marty came out of the living room holding Simon and looking irritated. She had been talking about this show all week and she did NOT want to be late. Mom apparently noticed this and hurried George out the door, yelling about making sure everyone had everything. Edwin and Lizzie came trailing behind; weird looks at me were the norm as the door came to a close.

I looked back up at the railing and sure enough, Derek was already gone, back in his cave. I clenched my jaw and dropped my luggage on the ground. I pounded up the stairs and went to his door, it was cracked open slightly, but I ignored all of his privacy and shoved it open anyway. My face immediately grew tomato red as Derek stood in mid-change, putting on pants. I was thankful he at least had his boxers on. I covered my eyes as he gave me a look that was as embarrassed as I was.

"Ever heard of knocking? You complain enough about it." Derek spat his words out at me. My eyes covered, they looked to the floor where a rainbow pile of shirts was forming, as Derek was attempting to pick out a shirt.

"Sorry—look, just tell me why you didn't just leave on time with George and Mom and everyone else?" I paused, expecting a response, but not getting one, I moved my hand, and he was out of the room. I groaned, he must have gone to the bathroom. I make my way through the hall and to the open door; he was brushing his teeth (for once).

"Is it customary in that country in that head of yours to just walk in on people? Or is that a new thing you're trying?" He spit into the sink and got out a strand of floss from a cupboard below. "Because, let me tell you," He switched to his bottom teeth, "It's not attractive."

My voice was offensive, "Since when would I care if I was _attractive _to you?"

He snorted and shrugged, he threw the strand of floss behind him, landing in my hair. He walked out of the bathroom and into his room. I grudgingly removed the floss from my hair and went towards his room again. I was about to walk in when I realized I didn't want to be a hypocrite. I knocked on the door briefly.

"No one's home little red riding hood, go blow down the next house."

I opened the door anyway, hiding my eyes just in case. When I found him shoving things into his duffle bag, I removed my hand.

"Ha-ha, very funny." I scrunched my nose, something smelled in here. "And that's _The Three Little Pigs_, not _Little Red Riding Hood_," I brushed myself off, just in case there was any excess floss on me somehow.

"You still didn't answer my question Derek."

He looked up from his duffle bag and met my eyes for a quick second. I looked away and pressed on. I saw a large bag fall out of his duffle bag and onto the floor. It contained a green substance that was broken up into many pieces. My eyes widened as I realized what it was. Derek was bringing _marijuana _to Coco la Playa?! That explained the smell when I walked in, but I shook my head, Derek _smoked marijuana_?! I shouldn't of been that surprised, it made so much more sense as to why he ate so much after being out late, and why he always complained of 'allergies' to stay home sick. But, that was almost two years ago.

Derek must've known I saw it, because he let out a heavy sigh. He picked up the bag and put it into a pocket of the duffle. He looked in the duffle for a long time before speaking.

"It's not what you think it is Casey," He met my eyes as they rolled at him. "It's for a friend." He sat down on his bed and fumbled with his fingers. He was staring at the ground, and was waiting for me to respond to him.

"Oh, I get it Derek," I sauntered over to him casually, "A _friend._" I said with air quotes. "Do you think I'm an idiot?! Oh wait, my mistake, it's _you_ that's the idiot!" He pounded his fists on the bed, which made me jump. He looked at me angrily.

"Do you think that I _want _to do this? It's not like that little '_business' _we had in high school Casey."

I looked away then spoke again,

"So you're using me as an excuse to make a detour to do a drug deal?"

He hesitated for a moment before speaking again, his mouth gapped a little bit, words trying to form like he was a fish out of water.

"Yeah, I don't know, is this a trick question? Because whatever I answer, you're still going to get mad."

I throw my hands in the air. Is he _serious_?! I go directly up to him. My heart is beating like a fast drum.

"How long have you been planning this?!" I point my finger directly into his face.

"You're seriously asking this Casey?" He moved my hand down. I made a serious face at him, which showed I meant it. Derek moved his neck in a clockwise motion and massaged it for a moment. He sighed again. "Yes, I _used _you for an excuse—'' this time, he held his finger up to pause me. "But I've done that plenty of times, so you should be used to it by now!" He let out a quick laugh which diminished when I went for my phone in my pocket. I had it nearly to dial before I was interrupted.

"Casey," He held my arm as I had my phone mid-air. I let out a breath of anger and annoyance. "Casey, don't rat me out." He met my eyes as I glared at him.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't. You realize that if I go with you and go through with this, _I _will get in trouble too. _I _will go to federal jail. _I _will lose my scholarship." I spat out all of these reasons and yet he still had his grip on my arm.

"Casey, Casey, Casey," He repeated my name, which only meant one thing. He had blackmail up his sleeve. "You do realize, I can so easily turn this on you. And, I did plan for that!" His voice perked up as he motioned to my duffle bag downstairs. My eyes widened as I ran to the railing. He ran up behind me as I had put the phone to my ear, ready to press call.

"You _didn't._" I threw the words out of my mouth like they were vomit. Derek soaked up his work with pride,

"But, I did," He cleared his throat as he moved his hand into a 'gimme' motion. My eyes turned to a squint as I moved around him and pressed call. His eyes went wide as he grabbed my phone from my ear and threw it down the stairs. The shattering sound from below made both of our mouths gape.

"You are _so_ paying for that."

* * *

><p><em>About an hour and four minutes later: 1:04pm.<em>

"I cannot believe I'm doing this." I threw my duffle bag into the bag of Derek's car. Luckily, ours were both different, so there would not be a mix up like in some crazy twisted movie.

"Yeah, neither can I…" Derek muttered as he shut the door behind him.

"But you didn't tell me why." I put on my seatbelt as Derek opened the garage door.

"Why I'm using you as an excuse? Yeah I already—"

"No. Why you're doing _this_."

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and let out a deep sigh. He switched on the radio and put in one of _The White Stripes_ cd's. I took that as a signal that meant he didn't want to explain to me right now; and for some reason, I wasn't offended by it, so I decided not to press on. The faster we got this stupid thing done, the faster I could relax at Coco la Playa Resort. I reclined the seat back slightly and I shut my eyes. I heard the volume of the music decline somewhat. Derek must have turned it down. Soon enough, the light riffs of guitar became muffled, Derek's breaths became more relaxed, and I fell asleep.

I was about to open my eyes again when I heard Derek on the phone. I could tell it was dark outside based on the lack of light being able to shine through my eyelids. I let a quick peak at the time which showed 7:30. _I slept for 6 and a half hours?! Wait a second… Coco la Playa is only four hours away…We were supposed to be there by 5. _I almost shot up before I realized that I wanted to hear who Derek was talking to. I could barely hear the stifled voice on the phone.

"You sure she's not going to be an issue?" The voice stated. My heart seemed to make its wait into my throat. Was the voice talking about me?

"Yeah—" I felt Derek hover over me for a moment, checking if I was asleep. I tried to keep my breaths even as he looked. He swerved past something in the road, causing me to almost hit my head on the seatbelt holder. "Just forget about her. I have it, now where am I meeting you?" The voice began speaking again, but it seemed to be cutting out.

"What? I can't—" He held the phone out and looked at it. "I can't understand you—" He looked at it again and spoke just a bit louder, "What?!" The phone then beeped, signaling no service. Derek slammed his hands on the steering wheel.

"Damnit!"

I jumped at his outburst but it was masked by a bump in the road. Then, I smelled smoke; Derek hit the steering wheel again and put his turning signal on to move to the side of the road. He shut off the engine and got out of the car. The interior lights came on, and I rose slowly, unbuckling my seatbelt. The lights of the car were on, showing Derek in front of the engine, which was indeed, smoking.

I gasped as I got out of the car quickly. I tumbled down, not realizing that he parked on an incline, as I fell into a ditch. I heard a quick laugh from Derek.

"The ogre wakes up from her slumber!" He says in a fairy-tale like voice.

_Ugh. He isn't even showing signs that he's angry. How does he mask it so well? _I shiver as I brush off the snow and slowly make my way up onto the road. Derek looks amused as I brush off the snow from my pants. I shiver slightly; my pants feel even colder than anything else on me. I brush off the rest of the snow. He lets out a cackle as I turn around and pick up my purse.

"What is so funny Derr-ek?"

He covers his mouth and laughs into it.

"Oh… just…just wondering when you invested in those granny panties of yours." My face became redder than the cold made it. My pants ripped. Of course they did.

I put my purse behind my pants and let out an angry noise.

"Where the hell are we Derek?!"

His smile disappeared as he sniffled and wiped his nose. He scratched his head and released a breath.

"Well… I'm not entirely sure of that." He braced himself as I began to shout. I must've shouted so many profanities at him that even the animals in the forest became offended.

"Casey—slow down," He put his hands on my shoulders as I pressed my mouth together. "I saw lights ahead. I think it's a hotel. We'll just go there, call Dad and Nora and it'll be fine."

"But what about…" I let my voice trail off as he removed his hands from my shoulders.

"I'll deal with that myself. For now, just… change your pants and get your duffle. We have some walking to do."

I didn't protest as I went to the car and changed my pants, stuffed the old ones beneath the seat and opened the car door. The light looked to be at least a mile off. And from how cold I was already from falling in the snow, this was going to be a long walk.

A mile or so later…

My toes were numb, and so was my brain. Why the hell did I agree to something so stupid?! I walked in the crunching snow, slipping, almost falling every few minutes. Derek was ahead of me, but not by much. He glanced behind me as he ushered me to move quicker. I huffed as I ran a little bit, only to slip and fall when I got to him. He laughed a little bit as I groaned at him.

"Did you know there was a patch of ice there?" I don't know why I even asked. I already knew the answer.

He brought his closed lips to an attempted to hide smile.

"Oh no… not at all." He reached his hand to help me up, which I declined, using both of my hands to get up I pushed myself to a standing position. I felt a sharp pain through my ankle. I let out a quick whimper. I must've landed on it when I fell. I was only wearing thin boots, not really enough to properly cushion a fall. Derek's smile faded as he heard me. I hope he felt bad. He already ruined part of my vacation, and now, I may have a sprained ankle that I can't even dance with when I get back to school.

"Are you okay?" Derek questioned me as he held onto my arm. I steadied myself and shoved his arm off. I nearly fell over onto the icy pavement again.

"Let's just get to the hotel up there. I'm calling Mom and George as soon as we get there. Maybe they'll have some service. A phone, something." I moved around my ankle lightly and a look of hurt covered my face. The darkness didn't mask Derek being able to see. He kicked a chunk of ice and muttered an okay. He walked ahead still, but slower.

Eventually we reached the hotel and I realized something. Derek and possibly I both had drugs in our duffle bags. We couldn't just carry them into a hotel without causing suspicion. Derek noticed my worry and stopped me before we entered.

"Just act normal," He began to walk in and then paused. I ran into him, he turned around. "Well, as normal as you can be for being Casey." I shoved him forward and we went into the hotel.

It was a strange place for a hotel, in the middle of nowhere. I forced myself to try not to limp as Derek walked up to the concierge. She noticed my limp and gave Derek a concerned look.

"I'm sorry—we don't have many rooms to check out right now. We're currently under renovation..." She typed in something onto her computer and perked up. "Oh! But we do have one suite available! I think it would suite you two just perfectly!"

"Oh, its fine we're just here to—" I began to speak when my ankle began to throb. I made my way to a small chair near the desk. The concierge looked over the desk and gasped.

"Oh, you poor thing! On your honeymoon, and you can't even enjoy it because of your ankle!" She typed another thing into her computer. "Oh, well… I'm not supposed to do this, but… I'm going to give you the room free of charge!" My mouth dropped open, _Honey what?! _I was about to speak when Derek put his hand over my mouth. He shushed me as he began to speak to the concierge.

"Oh… well isn't that lovely—uh… darling!"

I spat on Derek's hand, causing him to give me a disgusted look.

"No! You don't understand… I'm _not _married to him!" I stood up and hobbled over to the desk. The concierge looked confused for a moment, and then nodded in understanding.

"We're supposed to be going to Coco la Playa! His car broke down and then I fell and then…" I rambled on until the words became barely understandable and Derek put his hand over my mouth again.

"Oh!" The concierge exclaimed, "I get it! You're getting married at Coco la Playa and your car broke down. Then you hurt your ankle, and now you have to take a detour! Don't even stress honey. This almost happened to me thirty years ago with my husband. We were on a…" The woman droned on as I put my head into my hands and tried to make sense of what just happened.

Derek cleared his throat. "Ma'am, you said this room was," He waved his fingers in a circle, "free of charge?" The concierge nodded quickly, but put a finger to her lips. Derek did the same and gave me a look of excitement and put my finger to my lips. I shoved him off in annoyance.

"Here's the swipe-key. Take the elevator. It should still be working..."

He took the swipe-key from the concierge and shoved me up onto his shoulder before I could protest. He had his bag in one hand and I had mine in the next.

"Have a nice stay you two!" The concierge said with a wink.

He shoved me down in the elevator before I could say a word. He pressed the number four and the button lit up.

"Derek! What are you thinking?! We need to call Mom and George! They're expecting us to get to Coco la Playa any minute. They're probably worried sick. My phone is shattered into pieces and you're…" I look at him as he's just laughing at every word I'm saying. "And you're not even taking this seriously!"

"Casey, did you hear what just happened? That crazy lady gave us a _free _room." He looked at me as the elevator opened to floor four.

"We'll call inside the room Casey. We'll tell them my car broke down and that we'll be up sometime tomorrow. All I know is I am tired as hell and I want to sleep." He walked down the hall in search of the room. He stopped abruptly at the door and he let his head down.

"You have got to be kidding me."

I hobbled over to him. "What, what is it?" I asked, but my question was immediately answered when I looked at the door.

_Room 402: The Honeymoon Suite_

"Oh dear God," My face contorted into horror as I read the words. They seriously think we're married—or about to get married. I rubbed my temples, "just open the door Derek."

He opened the door with the swipe key and there it was. A heart shaped bed, a bathroom with a heart shaped tub, roses, chocolates, and the whole sha-bang.

"Kill me now." Derek muttered as we both walk into the suite. I snort quickly.

"Believe me, I'd like to."

"Is that a hot tub on the porch?! Alriiiight." Derek stripped himself of his shirt and pants as I gawked in disgust and embarrassment as he ran for it.

"So much for being _tired_." I said quietly. I heard a splash and watched water escape from the sides of the walls.

"Derr-ek! It's a hot tub, not a swimming pool!" I yell at him as I throw my stuff onto the bed and feel a headache coming on. It's going to be a long, long night.

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><p><em>Hi everyone! I've been away for a long, long time. Not sure if anyone reads Dasey anymore, but I've had this idea on repeat for a while. Chapter 2 is in the works as I type this, but I want to see if there's good feedback on this before I continue it. I'm working on the other stories that I started but never finished as well. So keep an eye out for those.<em>

_Thanks for reading guys,_

_much love; Lindsey_


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone! This chapter will involve the use of marijuana, so if you are offended by that sort of thing, you may want to skip this chapter of the story. Thanks, and enjoy reading! -Lindsey

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><p>I set my bag on the <em>one <em>bed provided and made a disgusted face. I sat down and looked around at the cheesy décor. This was the _last _type of room that I wanted to stay in with Derek. _He didn't even seem phased that he couldn't deliver his drugs… _I shuddered at the thought. I had never in my life smoked pot, eaten it, or anything in between. I never planned to smoke it, eat it, or anything either. If anyone knew that I even know what it smelled like, they'd probably have a fit! I was with Sam when we first started dating, and he got it out like it was nothing. Of course, I reacted quickly and harshly. I left immediately and Sam begged me not to mention it to anyone. How did I not connect that he and Derek were doing it together back then? I was too naïve I suppose. I brought my eyes to the balcony where Derek was still sloshing around in the hot tub. His eyes met mine briefly before he coughed into his hands.

"You're not thinking about coming in and ruining my fun are you?" He put his arms on the sides of the hot tub. I made a face at him.

"Of course not, I'm taking a bath and I'm going to sleep," I rose from the bed and hobbled to the bathroom. "Hopefully I'll dream about something that'll help me forget about this _awful _experience!" I yelled out the last few words to emphasize to Derek how irritated I felt.

He held his hands up in defense and shook them as if he was acting offended. I rolled my eyes as I quickly grabbed one of my bags and rushed into the bathroom. I groaned again as I saw the décor. Everything and I mean _everything _was heart-shaped. Even the toilet had a seat in which I was afraid to sit on. You'd think that they'd realize how tacky this all is. I slowly removed my clothes and pressed the middle button on the light-switch. It created a dim glow that shone lightly off of the white tiles. I sighed as I turned on the water and glanced out the window that just briefly showed the moon. I felt myself day-dreaming about how romantic a place like this may actually be if it was with someone I felt romantic feelings towards. Before I realized it, the bathtub nearly overfilled. I frantically shut it off and drained some water before stepping in and sitting down. I stayed in the bathtub until the water felt lukewarm. I got out and searched for the towels.

I groaned yet again when I saw the pattern, _hearts, again. _I wrapped the towel around my body and opened my night bag. My eyes went wide. _No, no, no! This isn't the bag with my regular clothes! _I dropped the bag on the ground. Of course, it was the bag with just my underwear, socks, and bras. And of course they were the only thing I couldn't fit in my bag of actual clothes. I sighed as I dried myself off and put on the underwear and bra. I really hoped Derek would be in the hot tub still so I could run and grab the bag without him realizing what happened. I re-wrapped the towel around my body and quietly opened the door. I took a glance around the room. _No sign of Derek… maybe he is still in the hot tub… Or went to get something to eat? _I exhaled a sigh of relief and walked out in my towel. I glanced over to the hot tub and saw no Derek. I checked the door and saw it was locked, so he must be out for a while. I let the towel fall to the ground and searched through my bag for something to wear. I heard the lock of the door click and I shuffled fast to put a shirt and sweatpants on. Derek just came through the door when I was putting my pants on.

We both momentarily froze before he quickly backed out of the room nearly shutting the door on himself. He opened it a crack and asked,

"Uh… are you done yet?" I thought I could almost hear the embarrassment in his voice. I muttered a yes as he walked back in.

"Oh, by the way, nice legs." He winked at me as he walked towards the bathroom.

I felt an intense blush and bubbling intensity in my stomach, one that was brewing anger. _How dare he look at me! _I sighed at myself as I thought this. Well of _course _he's going to look at you Casey. You are a college-aged female, his step-sister or not. I decided not to respond as I made my way to the bed. I made another disgusted face as I swiftly removed the fake rose petals from the bed by moving the comforter up and down. Derek walked out of the bathroom as I did this.

"Aw, Case," He put a hand to his heart. "I really thought you and I were going to have a romantic night!" He said this in a jokingly offended tone. For some reason though, it made me feel weirder than it should have.

"Very funny Derek, I'm actually tired, so you can sleep… over on there, on the floor." I pointed to a spot on the carpet and moved his bags and mine to the ground.

"Oh no, no, no. You are _not _getting the bed." He moved up near me and put his hands on his hips._ Oh great, here comes Sassy-Venturi. _I rolled my eyes.

"What makes you think I shouldn't get the bed? I am injured after all. From who again?" I put my hand on my chin and thought for a minute. Derek looked annoyingly at me. "Oh, right, it was _YOU!_" I pointed a finger at him. He didn't respond as he walked away from me, taking a towel from the bathroom and setting up somewhere to sleep on the floor. I made a confused face as he did so. _He didn't even put up a fight? _I laughed slightly in triumph as I got into the bed. I shut off the light to the right of me and snuggled up to the covers.

I was tossing and turning for what seemed like hours. I checked my phone. It had only been ten minutes. I moved myself to lie on my back and slightly brought my head up to see if Derek was asleep. He was on his side in a slight fetal position. I wondered for a minute if he was cold. My mouth was already open before I could comprehend what I was saying.

"You know, if you're cold you can come up here." I felt my mouth go into a sour face as I said the words. Derek sat up quickly and even in the dark I could see his confusion. He didn't complain though as he rose from the ground and came near the bed.

"Abovethecovertsthough" The words were mashed together quickly, but Derek seemed to understand what I said. He let out a snort before lying down on the opposite side.

He shifted his head over to the side for a moment and spoke, "You're so uptight. I bet smoking could help you with that," He laughed at himself as he shifted the other way. "Not like you'd ever do it though." I shifted upwards and gawked at him, though he couldn't see me.

I was slightly offended. _Who does Derek think he is telling me what I would and wouldn't do?!_

"What makes you think I wouldn't?" As soon as I said this, Derek stopped shifting. He turned his head over his shoulder again and spoke.

"You're not serious, are you?" He turned to face me; even in the dark I could tell his eyes were wide in surprise. I felt my hands grow clammy and my heart began to pound just a bit harder.

"I—I mean… yeah I'm serious." I stammered with my words, which made him shake his head at me. He knew I was lying, how had to of. He got up off of the bed and went into his bag. He got out a small bag and what looked like a glass bowl. It was the kind that people used to _smoke_. I felt my insides begin to melt in the most awful way possible. I felt like my stomach was growing hot. Derek pressed a switch on the wall and the lights went to a dim light. Derek doing that made me feel even worse. He sat on the bed and fiddled in his pocket for something.

"Let's see what you've got." He pulled out a lighter from his pocket as he packed the bowl full of the green substance. I looked at him dumbfounded before I found my words.

"You want me to do this in a hotel room Derek? Really?" My eyes were wide as he held the bowl out to me. He had to of known I hadn't done this before, right? I looked away as I spoke.

"You realize I haven't done this before right?" I said it quietly but a small smile quickly appeared on Derek's face. He laughed. Of course he knew, he just wanted to see what I'd do.

"I'll help you Casey. I'm just surprised you're actually going along with it," He gestured me to open my mouth. I hesitantly did as he put the bowl in my mouth. He put his finger up to signal something. "You're probably going to cough, like a lot. But it's normal, so don't freak out on me," He was about to light it when he stopped. "Also, inhale, but not too much. You probably won't get high on your first try anyway." I nodded briefly and took a deep breath of air and exhaled before he lit it. I felt the warmth of the flame near my face and nearly flinched at it, but resisted. Derek signaled to me to inhale and as I did, I felt like I was in a wild-fire, unable to breathe at all. I removed the bowl from my mouth and coughed increasingly heavy heaves. Derek smirked as he removed the bowl from my hand and put it to his lips and took a hit of his own. He exhaled a large patch of smoke and laughed again as I still sat there coughing.

"That's your defi—" Cough. "Definition of fun?" Cough, cough. Yet, somehow, for some reason, I wanted to do it again. I grabbed it from his lips just as he was about to light it. He gave me an irritated look,

"Casey what are you—" before he could stop me, I felt myself grabbing his lighter and illuminating the bowl and inhaling quickly, just not as much as the first time. From what Sam did, I remember he said holding it in longer helps you become high quicker. I didn't know if it was true or not, but I felt like trying it. Derek's eyes widened as he watched me hold in the smoke for a brief few moments before exhaling. He smirked at me and took it from my lips and wiped it.

"Not bad Casey, not bad at all…" He muttered this as I felt a smile creep onto my face. We stayed like that, passing the bowl back and forth before it was nearly empty. Out of the corner of my eye, I felt like I saw Derek staring at me.

"Quit staring at me Derek." I looked to him and then away from him as he laughed. He moved off of the bed and stretched.

"You know weed makes you calm, but it also can make you paranoid sometimes? It only makes sense you'd become paranoid." He took another hit as he moved outside to the balcony. My body felt slightly tingly and my head felt light as I rose from the bed. I followed Derek out as he stood on the balcony, looking out at the night sky. I checked my phone, and realized it was already 1am. He was taking another hit as I coughed behind him. He turned around and looked at me, exhaling his smoke out his mouth.

"What? You've had enough for the night." He crossed his arms and watched me carefully. I shook my head at him. I made my way near him. Derek eyed me again as I became closer.

"No, I haven't." I felt a large smile across my face as I cornered him on the balcony. I attempted to grab the bowl from his hand. I was pressed up against him as we were in the corner. He shoved me off lightly as he put the bowl in his pocket.

"Casey, you should go to bed." He maneuvered around me and went to the other side of the balcony. I felt a sad look envelope my face. I didn't know why I was sad though. I felt strangely calm however. I felt like going in the hot tub, but I didn't bring my swimsuit outside. I felt like it wouldn't really matter if I took off my shirt and pants in front of Derek. What really was the difference between underwear and a bikini? I took off my shirt and pants and lightly dipped my foot into the hot tub.

"Ooh, that's really hot." I laughed at myself. _What's really that funny? The water being hot wouldn't normally make me laugh._ Derek turned around and his eyes were wide.

"Casey—go put something on." He stammered as he looked away from me. I shook my head at him.

"Derek, you are too uptight!" I got inside the water and felt instant pleasure course through my veins. I sighed at looked up at the stars. I hadn't felt this at ease in a long, long time.

"You can come in you know… I won't bite." I felt myself shake my head at the last thing I said. _Why am I just being completely… off? And so straightforward? Maybe I should have asked Derek what the side effects of weed were before I actually did it. _He caught himself laughing as he watched me again. He shrugged and took off his shirt and pants. I felt myself look away as he got in the water. I had no idea why I said that, and frankly, I didn't want to.

"Sorry... I don't know why I said that." I moved a piece of hair from out of my face and crossed my arms over my chest. Derek ran his fingers through his hair and had a serious face.

"Sometimes when people smoke they get a little…" He was about to speak more when he stopped himself and laughed lightly.

"They get a little what Derek?" I felt my face flush, because I didn't even need to ask to know what he was going to say.

"You know… a little…" He made an okay sign with his hands and put a finger through it. My face must've been beet red by then.

"Derr-EK! You don't have to show me!" I hid my face in embarrassment as he just laughed at me, for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. He shifted over near me which caused me to flinch slightly.

"Casey, I'm just explaining something to you, don't get all paranoid again." He was at the corner next to mine when he began to speak again. But, I wasn't really listening. I was observing the way he spoke. I hadn't really noticed how much older Derek looked, how his eyes drooped from being tired. The way that his smile didn't fully reach his face when he spoke. It wasn't the Derek I had known and knew for the past five years. He stopped speaking at watched me as I looked at him. He cleared his throat before looking me in the eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that Casey?" He laughed, but it was emptier than any laugh he'd done tonight. I realized at that moment that Derek Venturi wasn't happy. He wasn't the Derek that made fun of me with humor; now, he made fun of me to bring back skeleton-like memories. He was bare inside and it took me this long to realize it.

"Derek… are you okay?" I felt myself feel a hurt inside my chest looking at Derek, looking at how tired he looked. He was not full of life and happiness, but filled with false enjoyment, that apparently I couldn't see through until now. He gave me a confused look.

"Casey, I'm fine. I don't know what you're talking about…" He ran his hands through the water and shook his head, a small smile on his face.

"Derek, don't lie to me."

"I'm completely fine…I am…" His eyes met mine again as I felt them wearing down slowly, I saw the forming tears in his eyes begin to shake.

"Why did you have drugs in your bag? Why are we going to take them to someone? Please, just tell me that." I felt my voice begin to quiver as I felt myself shake. Even in such a warm place, I felt completely cold.

"Casey…" He cleared his throat, trying to stop his voice from quivering. "I've been doing this since high school ended. I dropped out of college. I—" He stopped talking as tears left his face. He wiped his eyes and spoke again. "I… I needed money. This…marijuana isn't the only thing that I deal." He looked at me as my eyes turned from sympathetic to inexpressive.

"Are you an _idiot_ Derek!?" I threw my hands in the air and grasped it in anger. "Do you realize how dangerous that is?! How much trouble you could get into?! How much your Dad and Nora would freak out?!" I knew I was bombarding him with questions, yet I couldn't stop myself. He looked horribly at me and then moved his eyes from mine. I had a realization that I couldn't shake. _If Derek had smoked weed with me tonight… did that mean… he was doing... _My mind couldn't finish the thought.

"Derek… have you… done anything besides weed?" I let the words tumble out of my mouth, but my ears were able to hear even the slightest change in breath. They were bracing themselves for the answer. He looked at me in a way that I knew answered my question. My eyes began to pour over with tears and it was then when his entire face had broken down in front of me. He got out of the hot tub, grabbed a towel and ran into the hotel room. I quickly scrambled out of the hot tub, falling over onto the hard ground and feeling my ankle throb. I got up as fast as my ankle would allow and felt the chilled air hit my screaming pores. I went inside, my teeth chattering. I saw Derek curled up in the bed, underneath the sheets; he was in his fetal position again.

"Please, don't say anything Casey. I can't handle it tonight. Yell at me tomorrow… something. Anything but right now." He sounded the most upset I've ever heard in my life. I kept a fair distance between us as I slowly moved towards him. I looked in his bag and I threw a pair of dry boxers his way.

"At least change so you don't get the bed all wet." He moved out of the bed and went to the bathroom, barely shutting the door. I kept a reserved glance towards it as I changed into my own dry clothes. I put a towel on the side where Derek had been laying. I curled up onto the other side of the bed and covered every inch of my body with blankets and sheets. Derek walked out of the bathroom rubbing his eyes. He looked at me and crossed his arms.

"Just get in bed Derek. This night has already been weird, a little more of it isn't going to do much else.

He kind of chuckled as he slipped into bed. He was at the very edge. I could tell because of how little of his weight I felt on the bed. I sighed and I felt myself shift to lying on my back, staring at the ceiling. I felt Derek shift his weight onto his back and we were in the same position at that moment. Staring at the ceiling, wondering how we both got into this mess. Wondering why the tension in the air was more than the words that were spoken earlier. And there I was, lying next to Derek Venturi, in a bed. The last thing I had ever thought I'd be doing and I was doing it. As I felt my thoughts carry me away to sleep, Derek spoke.

"Casey, I'm sorry…" I muttered a quick 'for what?' before he let the silence sit in the air. He exhaled a deep breath. "I'm sorry for keeping you with me instead of letting you go." I knew he meant about having me stay with him instead of going with the rest of the family for the vacation; but something in his voice spoke to a deeper sense than that… No, I must be just tired. "I'm sorry that you found my weed, that the car broke down and I lured you to fall onto ice. That I'm the reason your ankle is hurt, that we are in this God-forsaken hotel and that you are lying in a bed next to me and not even questioning it."

"I… I just want to sleep, okay?" I felt myself start to cry at the thought of seeing Derek do all of those terrible drugs. Who knows what he was dealing, what he was doing, and how many times he had been doing it.

"Please, just don't cry anymore. I can't deal with you crying Casey. I just can't deal with it." He shifted to the side again and I could tell that was the last thing he'd say for the night.

I wiped my face and nose as I thought about the times that he had not wanted to be around me when I cried. When Truman was kissing Vicky and I almost broke down in front of him. Or when I almost didn't go to my prom… Even tonight, he ran into the room when he saw I was close to tears. I kept racking up memories in my head and each time, I realized more and more that Derek would never be around when I would really be crying. I suppose those thoughts were what carried me to sleep that night.

When I woke, dim sunshine shone through the windows. I realized that Derek had his arm underneath me and his hand on my waist, holding me close to him. I moved over a few inches, until I felt the hand on my waist pull me back, beckoning me to remain where I was.

"This night has already been weird and it's not morning until that sun shines on my face. A little more of it isn't going to do much."

With that, I felt myself smile, as I let my eyelids close again, and felt the hand around my waist pull me closer to the body it was attached to.

* * *

><p>I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. I hope that I didn't put the character's too OOC. I feel like this may have been how they both could have reacted if they were put into a situation like this, especially because of how close they were towards the end of the actual tv series and into the Vacation with Derek movie. Also, please note, I am not condoning that marijuana is a gateway drug, or condoning the use of it. This is just the plot I used for the story and does not <em>entirely<em> reflect my stance on the substance.

Please leave a review! It really helps me gain inspiration for the story.

Thanks for reading; the next chapter will be arriving soon.

Lindsey


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